Underneath the Lights
by Parodius
Summary: Kaidan finds himself at Purgatory, hoping to unwind and relax a bit. A few drinks in, and he finds himself talking to a very intoxicated Shepard. What could go wrong? M!ShepXKaidan


Rated: T

_I do not own **Mass Effect, **BioWare does._

A/N: *sigh* It's been a while hasn't it? Kind of fell off the FanFiction bandwagon now didn't I? Well, for here and now I am indeed _back_ for whatever that might be in store for me. (Reviews are always appreciated!)

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"Looks like he's enjoying himself..." groaned out Garrus who was leaning against a metallic wall in the far corner of the nightclub. In one hand was a sky blue coloured drink which he sipped at occasionally.

"Even though his dance moves are little...dated."

Switching his glance from nothing in particular to the turian's face Kaidan let out a simple sigh, "yeah, I'm glad to see he knows how to loosen up once in awhile."

Glancing towards his commander officer, the scene unfolding was more than enough to make the biotic wince in embarrassment. Shepard's arms were flailing in a manner that could only be described as epileptic, but to his surprise no one around him was giving him grief.

"Yeah because he's The Commander Shepard..." Kaidan whispered under his breath.

"Sorry what was that?" Garrus questioned over the increasingly loudening dance music that was radiating off the walls.

He just shook his head, "Never mind, I need a drink."

And with that the biotic elevated himself off the wall that was supporting him and was slowly making his way across the club. Kidan waded his way through drunken females who were leaving nothing to the imagination and even drunker males who were wasting not another minute of their shore-leave. Kaidan ignored the lot of them and continued until he got to the other side of the club where the bar was. Turians, quarians, and salarians were gathered around the bar all conversing and swaying to the beat of the music. The holographic signs that hung overhead casted a warm purple haze over the bar which reflected off the metallic surface.

Weaving in between a quarian and a turian in green combat armor miles deep in a conversation regarding amino acids and exo-suit enhancements, the biotic sidled up to the counter.

"What'll it be, and before you ask-no we don't serve humans Ryncol, and I don't care how tough you think you are, I'm not in the business for a lawsuit," the bartender retorted while wiping down a clear glass and putting it away somewhere underneath the bar.

"I'll just take a rum and coke, nothing special," Kaidan said plainly resting his elbows on the counter and looking around in a daze.

With a nod, the bartender was off leaving Kaidan alone with just his thoughts and the blaring music that surrounded him.

"Why am I doing this to myself..." the biotic moaned to himself. Doing a quick one-eighty, Kaidan faced the ever fluctuating crowd of people all dancing and weaving in and out of one another's presence.

He could hardly see where Shepard was, probably off with some Citadel "escort" who said the right amount of sweet talking to make him feel like a damn hero all over again. Figures, but frankly it wasn't his job to babysit his commanding officer. It wasn't his place, and Kaidan knew where he stood when it came to rank. What, or more obviously who, he wanted to waste his time doing had no business in his affair with Shepard. Even if they involved him.

"Here you go sir," the bartender droned out while placing the cocktail to the right of where Kaidan was leaning his back.

"Thanks," dipping into his Alliance-standard pants pocket, he pulled out his credit chit and swiped it against the kiosk making the machine let out a quick "blip!".

Grasping the drink with his right hand he quickly brought it to his lips and downed half of it in the first swig, followed by a quick blink and a subtle shake of the head. The alcohol burned as it went down his throat but frankly it was the most he's felt in a long time and it reminded him he was actually here living this moment. It took a lot being on Shepard's team and sometimes he wondered if it was even worth it. Sure you get the fame and fortune and the recognition, but at what cost? Most days, it all just didn't seem to add up and he was beginning to question his drive...

Releasing a quick sigh from his throat, the biotic lifted up his left arm and his omni-tool quickly materialized on his forearm; the time read out 2:20 AM and Kaidan let out a quiet huff. The numbers casted an amber glow on the biotic's already furrowed brow before he switched off the device.

Mentally realizing that they all should've been back on the Normandy roughly two hours ago, Kaidan downs the rest of his drink and starts to look for his commander.

Jolting his body off the bar, the biotic starts to yet again navigate his way through the hordes of club-goers all bouncing off each other. Not even making his way up to the top level dance floor, Kaidan quickly feels a hand on his shoulder which sends the biotic into a state of alertness.

Swinging around with a force of brute strength, Kaidan's blue eyes meet Shepard's ocean ones and they both exchange a look of calmness.

"You scared me half to shit Shepard, and I'm glad I fin-"

"Kaaaaidddannn! You asshctually made it!" Shepard slurred out while trying to balance himself against the banister that he was shakily grasping.

Looking more than puzzled Kaidan gave his commander a strange look and slight chuckle, "looks like we had a little too much to drink, huh Shepard?"

"You're the one who's had too much to drink!" Shepard blurts out putting emphasis on the latter half of the sentence followed by a half-hearted finger pointing attempt.

"Mhmm," Kaidan hums out while folding his armored arms in an authoritative manner, "listen Shepard we were supposed to be back on the Normandy two hours ago, and I'm sure Joker's not gonna be all smiles this time around."

"You know what I like about you Kaidan?" the commander blurted out without notice, ascending his body off of the rail that was supporting his drunken form. Kaidan's face tensed up, his eyes zeroed in on Shepard's as he mentally prepared himself for whatever was coming his way.

"I like..." Shepards started off, swaying out of synch with the music blaring overhead, "I like how you keep your head in the game, always so fooocusssed."

He then began to motion with his hands roughly around Kaidan's skull to simulate the biotic's "focus". Jockeying his hands in a rapid motion, Shepard's hands lightly grazed the lieutenant's cheek bone skimming over the recently shaved hair. It sent shivers down Kaidan's back which he disguised as nothing more than a stretch of his muscles; on the other hand, his increasingly reddening complexion was sticking out like a Quarian out of her enviro-suit. Even in the low-light it was obvious of Kaidan's blushing face, and he tried to deflect Shepard's gaze anywhere but upwards.

To the former's surprise, his commander wasn't even remotely interested in anything other than his own nostalgic story about the two's first encounter.

"-when I first met you, you were thiss stronng, deterrmined, tough, as, shit marine...and now look at youu!" emphasising the end of his sentence he threw his arm around Kaidan's left shoulder which sent him wobbling to hold his form while adjusting to the added weight.

All Kaidan could do was smile haphazardly as he struggled to balance the colour on his face back to normal tones, all the while his heart beats a thousand beats per minute inside his chest. He arched his right arm behind his head and massaged his neck in an attempt to calm the tensed muscles that took up residency there.

The biotic's throat burned with words, words that caught themselves and stayed there, stagnant. He wanted to say a whole wealth of things, and most of those things seemed wonderfully out of line and inappropriate. Lost between a perpetual fear of silence and the blistering bass that loomed overhead his head was pounding with everything imaginable.

Befoe Kaidan had any moment to ponder a response, his arm was yanked roughly by Shepard in an attempt to grab his attention over the intruding chaos around the two of them. His touch felt intense, as if it was the only sensation in the room even though his senses were being bombarded with hundreds of different stimuli. In his drunken stumble it made him spring from the railing and start tripping moderately towards the dance floor.

"Shepard, where are we..." his voice blended in with the discourse around him, his words bouncing off the aliens in metallic clothing that occupied the space. The grip on the biotics arm loosened and he felt the tingling touch of bare skin trickle down the underside of his arm. Before he had a chance to reject the invitation, Shepard's fingers took up residence in between the empty space of Kaidan's.

From across the club, the biotic's eyes caught the haphazard gaze of Garrus', who was busy talking to a woman who was beyond fascinated with his talk about heat sinks and sniper rifle barrel lengths, much to the turian's delight. Garrus's expression was a mix of suspicious and intrigue as his eyes met the apprehensive ones of the biotic who was dragged deeper into the fray of vigorously dancing club-goers.

The scene upstairs was even wilder, it must've been a VIP-type atmosphere of sorts, judging from the sparse amount of bodies. Conversely, there was a whole different vibe of music and it radiated off the questionably intoxicated club-goers that spun and rotated around each other in a manner than made Kaidan's stomach flutter. Hints of ruby reappeared on the lieutenant's face as the thought of himself dancing with Shepard occupied his current mindset, the thought of his superior next to him, the idea of him up against him-it made his whole body feel light.

Above the two soldier's head were neon lights that casted everchanging translucent colours on their faces, each one bounced off in a different way. Kaidan's hand felt the rough tug of Shepard's as the latter repositioned it to keep the biotic by his side, clearly disregarding the amount of moisture building up due to Kaidan's heart racing a hundred beats a minute.

"Ahhh!" Shepard moaned out more sexually than anything, sending a wave of intrigue over Kaidan's body, "I loovee this songg."

In what seemed like no time at all Shepard and Kaidan were in the middle of the dancefloor sorrounded by armor wearing turians and violet dress wearing asaris who were too preoccupied with their own business to give the latter the time of night. Turning around to face the biotic, Shepard's eyes were locked on nothing more than Kaidan's own and it was as if Kaidan was locked in a eezo field, his arms went numb and all he could think about was how much he wanted...

_No_.

This is Shepard, _The_Commander Shepard. Not some plaything to be used for a night of cheap thrills and drunken opportunities. Everything in Kaidan's head was screaming at him that this was a bad idea, even if it's what he's wanted ever since he met the commander that short time ago. Man, it seemed as if he'd known him his whole life; people say that about Shepard, he has the attitude that he's this guy you can run into on some Presidum storefront and end up talking about the fluctuating nature of the galaxy like it child's play. It was with this attraction that put Kaidan in this awkward state of desperation and longingness that he wished he could just sever from his life, cut all ties to this man he's found himself stumbling sideways over. But if Kaidan was an expert on anything, he knew that when it came to Commander Shepard easy's never been an option.

Right at that moment he felt Shepard's right arm hook around the small of Kaidan's back, making it goosebump in the process, and it felt as if he was running his finger over each of them individually. The biotic's eyes fluttered shut for half a second, his ears taking in the sounds around him like a drug. Kaidan's body was pushed closer to Shepard's, his thighs were rubbing dangerously close to the commander's and it was the sudden warmth that made the biotic's face light up in ecstasy.

"Shepard..." Kaidan groaned out, though even with the blistering sound of the music around him, still caused Shepard to look down from his position and into the eyes of his subordinate.

"What is it Kaidan," the larger man replied back, his words sounded oddly alluring and it threw the lieutenant off for a minute, unsure on what his next actions should be. Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was...

Kaidan looked down at the glass floor beneath him, each tile was a different colour because of the strobe lights above them-there was no pattern and Kaidan watched for what seemed like minutes trying to figure out the cycle. He felt fingers on his chin, the stubble tickled his nerves.

Lifting his head up to face his commander, he did it in every possible meaning of the word, making their eyes line up so there was nothing else to distract them. Almost as if he had a sudden case of tunnel vision, all Kaidan saw was the face of Shepard and that was all he needed to become weak in the knees. Shepard took notice.

He quickly adjusted his arm that was around his waist to support Kaidan who's knees made him fall to the ground slightly, and with that the two were locked in a dancing embrace that sent sensations up both of their arms.

"Shepard...I," Kaidan started off his voice sounded like that of a child unsure of what to say, not sure of how to form his words quite yet.

Met with actions instead of words, Kaidan's lips made room for another pair who obviously had an agenda of their own, and they marked their territory on Kaidan's. The intrusion of such a foreign presence was shocking to the lieutenant, especially when that presence was his commanding officer. Moans rolled out of Kaidan's mouth as Shepard's tongue moved to the beat of the music and darted in every which direction of the biotic's mouth.

Shepard's hips clung to Kaidan's and they rocked back and forth in a passionate dance, sure to make anyone looking on to suddenly breakdown with jealousy. The commander's hands found their way back to Kaidan's chin and he rubbed his thumb over the stubble that lay there making the biotic blush in happiness. Taking a tuft of hair in his grasp, Kaidan took the initiative and pushed his commander's head back making him gasp out in ecstasy as soon as his lips made contact with his soft neck. Working his way all over his skin Kaidan left marks of his actions, physical proof that Shepard belonged to him now.

"I'm glad your dancing has gotten better," Kaidan chuckled out while half-looking at the floor beneath him, more towards the man in front.

"It just took someone I cared about."

Shepard looked at Kaidan and he saw something flutter in his ocean eyes, something that cried out for the commander in every fiber of his being. The lieutenant took on a new form and it was in this new emotional change that he grabbed the commander by his neck and brought his ear close to his mouth. Whispers left his mouth and even with the music, now on the downhill since the night was growing very late, Shepard heard every word making his face light up with intrigue and satisfaction.

Kaidan's hand then flew south and lace them between the fingers of the older man and he did a one hundred and eighty turn towards the stairs they walked up not too long ago and back down to the lower level of the club. Weaving in and out of the club-goers, the two men made their way to the entrance where bodyguards were still dealing with drunken patrons insisting that they're sobriety is all in check. They just laughed as they went to the balcony overlooking the Presidium. Hailing a cab with his omni-tool, Shepard was busy finicking around with the other functions to not feel Kaidan's head that was resting on his shoulder as the latter looked off on the vista of expansive buildings and panoramic views. Kaidan sighed as he looked up to the commander's and he took in the details and features that made Shepard, Shepard and it was comforting. The former looked down at his lieutenant and kissed him on the forehead as they held each other.


End file.
